Vincent Anthony Tarzia (born 24 September 1986) is an Australian lawyer and former politician who represented Hartley in the South Australian House of Assembly from 2014 to 2026. On 3 May 2018, he was sworn in as Speaker of the House of Assembly, becoming the youngest person to hold the office. He later served as leader of the South Australian Liberal Party and Leader of the Opposition from 2024 to 2025.
Tarzia was born into an Italian-Australian family whose grandparents migrated to Adelaide from Italy in the 1950s. He was educated in Adelaide, attending St Joseph's School and Rostrevor College, where he was school captain and dux, and worked part-time in retail during his youth. He initially considered a career in medicine before completing degrees in commerce and law at the University of Adelaide, later working as a company lawyer. Tarzia has been politically active from a young age, beginning as a volunteer for Christopher Pyne at 16.
Tarzia joined the Liberal Party, and entered local politics after encouragement from Steven Marshall, winning a council seat at the City of Norwood Payneham & St Peters in 2010. He later entered state politics, winning the marginal seat of Hartley for the Liberals at the 2014 election by a very narrow margin. Early in his parliamentary career, he focused on legislative work and held roles including parliamentary secretary for entrepreneurship and later shadow cabinet parliamentary secretary. He successfully defended his seat in 2018 against high-profile challenger Nick Xenophon, helping the Liberals return to government after 16 years in opposition.
Tarzia went on to serve as Speaker of the South Australian House of Assembly from 2018 and later held ministerial roles, including Police and Emergency Services, before moving into opposition after the 2022 election. In 2024, he became Leader of the Opposition, leading the Liberal Party through internal challenges and policy development ahead of the 2026 election. He resigned from the leadership in December 2025, remained in parliament for Hartley, but ultimately lost his seat at the 2026 state election.
Early life and education Vincent Anthony Tarzia was born on 24 September 1986, son of Tony and Mary Tarzia. He comes from an Italian background. The grandparents on the mother's side came from Avellino while those on the father's side came from Calabria and migrated to Adelaide in the 1950s. Tarzia has discussed the challenges they faced because they could not speak English.
Tarzia studied at St Joseph's School in Payneham prior to his secondary education at Rostrevor College, where he served as school captain and dux. He played the sport of Australian rules football for the school's first XVIII in 2004 and also participated in the senior debating team. As a teenager, he worked as a supermarket shelf stacker. He became interested in politics and public speaking as a child and started volunteering in the election campaigns of Christopher Pyne when he was 16 years old.
Tarzia had an initial interest in medicine, and sat for the Undergraduate Medicine and Health Sciences Admission Test, although he failed to get the marks necessary for admission. He graduated from the University of Adelaide with a Bachelor of Commerce in Corporate Finance, a Bachelor of Law and a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice.
Tarzia had considered a future in merchant banking prior to law following the global financial crisis of 2008. Tarzia was mentored by Adrian Tembel, a lawyer, and later worked as a corporate lawyer for Peregrine Corporation and Yasser Shahin.
Political career
Member of Parliament (2010–2018) Tarzia decided to join the Liberal Party of Australia since it shared many of his values. Steven Marshall suggested that Tarzia should contest council elections before pursuing state parliament. Tarzia won a council seat in 2010, leading the polls in his constituency, becoming a councillor at the City of Norwood Payneham & St Peters.
In the lead-up to the 2014 state election, Tarzia was ordered to remove three campaign posters for violating electoral regulations after the Electoral Commission upheld a complaint. He went on to win the previously Labor-held seat of Hartley from Grace Portolesi at the election on 15 March, by a margin of 0.1%. In his maiden speech, he said he "had no political bloodline" but aimed to improve his community and South Australia. Later that year, he introduced the Freedom of Information (Offences) Amendment Bill, and again the following year. In January 2016, he was appointed parliamentary secretary for entrepreneurship, innovation and business start-ups, and in January 2017 he became Shadow Cabinet Parliamentary Secretary.
On 6 October 2017, Nick Xenophon announced he would resign from the Senate and contest Tarzia's seat of Hartley at the 2018 state election. At the same time, Portolesi was also attempting to regain the seat. Tarzia's victory in 2018 contributed to the Liberals returning to power after 16 years in opposition. Following the result, Marshall described him as the "Lion of Hartley". On a two-party preferred basis, Tarzia received 58.6% of the vote, while Xenophon received 41.4%.
Speaker of the South Australian House of Assembly
Following his unexpected win, speculation emerged that Tarzia would become Speaker of the South Australian House of Assembly after Marshall confirmed he would support and endorse him and strongly encouraged him to nominate. On 3 May 2018, Tarzia was sworn in as Speaker on the opening day of parliament, becoming the youngest person to hold the position. He also stated that he was the first Speaker of non–Anglo-Saxon origin in South Australia. Later that year, in an effort to promote "openness and accountability," he became the first person in Australia to allow question time to be broadcast live on Facebook.
In September 2019, Tarzia announced that, during major legislative debates, he would use his casting vote to preserve the "status quo" in tied votes, including on proposed reforms relating to property tax and sex work laws. As Speaker, he was responsible for maintaining order in parliament and frequently removed MPs from the chamber for disruptive behaviour during debates. In 2019, 24 MPs were expelled from the lower house 168 times, compared with 20 MPs being expelled 85 times the previous year.
In January 2020, Tarzia launched an investigation into several allegations of inappropriate behaviour involving fellow Liberal MP Sam Duluk. The following month, he acknowledged the limitations of parliamentary procedures in dealing with misconduct allegations against MPs, stating that, as Speaker, he lacked the authority to directly sanction Duluk even if the allegations were proven. He explained that, if the claims were substantiated, he could only invite the parties involved to participate in conciliation or mediation. Tarzia also confirmed that he would be the sole recipient of the independent investigation report and would decide whether it would be made public.
In March 2020, a Labor opposition attempt to remove Tarzia as Speaker was triggered by accusations that he had shown bias towards the Marshall government and had improperly handled the Duluk investigation. Tom Koutsantonis stated that Labor no longer had confidence in Tarzia's ability to manage parliament impartially, while independent MPs also supported a debate on whether he should remain Speaker. However, the motion to suspend question time and debate his position ended in a 22–22 tied vote and was defeated, with Stephan Knoll publicly declaring his complete confidence in Tarzia.
Later in 2020, Tarzia became embroiled in the Country Members Accommodation Allowance scandal, which centred on statements by Marshall regarding housing and residency arrangements connected to parliamentary expenses. In June 2020, Tarzia and Terry Stephens supported the release of Country Members Accommodation Allowance payment details in an effort to improve transparency and reduce uncertainty surrounding the system. Amid continuing controversy over the scandal, Tarzia later resigned as Speaker during a cabinet reshuffle. Cabinet minister (2020–2021)
Following the expenses and benefits scandals, Tarzia was appointed Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Correctional Services in a cabinet reshuffle by the Marshall government on 28 July 2020. He was sworn into cabinet the following day at Government House and simultaneously became a member of the Executive Council. During this period, Tarzia also sought to repair relations with the hospitality industry, which had become strained during the final period of the Marshall government due to strict COVID-19 restrictions.
Later in 2020, Tarzia criticised the former Weatherill government for failing to improve motorcycle safety during its time in office. He described consultation on motorcycle safety reforms as "exhaustive" and said it would lead to "well-considered reform", although both he and Corey Wingard were accused by Lee Odenwalder of delaying action on motorcycle safety issues. In November, Tarzia and the Marshall government announced an A$800,000 funding boost to Crime Stoppers South Australia, representing the first direct state government funding for the organisation.
In February 2021, Tarzia and David Littleproud jointly announced more than $2 million in disaster risk reduction funding for South Australia through the Disaster Risk Reduction Grants Programme. On 3 March, Tarzia introduced the Motor Vehicles (Motor Bike Driver Licensing) Amendment Bill 2020 as part of changes to the motorcycle Graduated Licensing Scheme, including raising the minimum age for a motorcycle learner’s permit from 16 to 18. On 1 July, he introduced stricter anti-hoon driving laws requiring suspected offenders to pay more than $1,100 to recover seized vehicles and allowing confiscated vehicles to be sold or destroyed before court proceedings concluded. Speaking on ABC Radio Adelaide, Tarzia stated that he had "no sympathy" for dangerous drivers.
In August 2021, Tarzia faced criticism after police officers circulated a private letter from Labor MP Jayne Stinson during traffic operations in Adelaide's west. Drivers reported that officers displayed or distributed copies of Stinson's letter while issuing traffic fines, with some allegedly being told to contact her if they objected to the fines. Tarzia said he could not explain how the letter had reached frontline police officers and initially stated that there was nothing to suggest wrongdoing had occurred. Later that year, in November 2021, he introduced legislation targeting drug driving, under which drivers who failed roadside drug tests could have their licences suspended immediately.
Speirs shadow ministry (2022–2024) Following the 2022 state election, which resulted in the defeat of the Liberals, Tarzia lost his ministerial positions on 21 March 2022, although he retained the seat of Hartley with a margin of more than 3 per cent. After David Speirs was elected Opposition Leader in the 2022 South Australian Liberal Party leadership election on 19 April, Tarzia was appointed Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Sport, Recreation and Racing as part of Speirs's "fresh-faced" and "youthful" shadow ministry, which included several first-term MPs.
On 29 January 2023, Tarzia was given the additional shadow portfolio of Road Safety. The following month, he criticised the Malinauskas government for failing to release its promised Road Safety Action Plan. Tarzia had previously overseen long-term agreements that privatised Adelaide's tram services to Torrens Connect and train services to Keolis Downer, despite earlier assurances from Marshall that there were no plans for privatisation. On 19 April 2024, Tarzia relinquished his existing shadow portfolios and was appointed Shadow Minister for Business and Hospitality.
Leader of the Opposition (2024–2025)